Tag Archives: TSTO Buyijja Projects

Friday Filler – Living in a World of Diversion

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

OK. So…I will avoid politics, because frankly, this isn’t the place.  While we cling to TSTO and this place as a diversion from the “real world,” the fact is, the real world goes on, and on, and on…no matter how many new ways we cling to, hoping that “getting it all” with every update, will give us some sense of satisfaction.

People are suffering. And the there is simply no way to gauge personal suffering of others, as the one thing this pandemic has done, is to isolate us away from one another for our “safety.” But, I have to admit, there are simply times when as a 66-year-old guy, who has lived a very wide and fulfilling life, I take the “risk” of going against the grain, and do things that others would not.

Remember the good old days, when “running with scissors” or “swimming before an hour has passed after a meal” were considered risky behavior?  Who knew that not washing your hands every time you touch something that isn’t from your “safe bubble,” or gathering with friends for a drink, without vetting where they have been over the past 14 days, would become “risky behavior?”

But, count me in.  I’ve been that guy. Almost all family…but my family probably isn’t a good indication of “super safe,” either. I missed them. So shoot me…or cough on me, or lick my fork before I eat my chicken salad.

What do I miss most during this pandemic??
Continue reading

Your Help Is Needed – Hope is In Your Hands

I have made no attempt to hide the fact that the primary reason I still write for TSTO Addicts long after the game has gone into decline, is because of the work that this site does to support the Buyijja Village School in rural Uganda.  It is one of those things that is “outside the box” of TSTO, and all about the community we have created here.

I have not done a fundraiser for the school since January, as like the rest of the world, conditions have been in an uncertain state since Covid-19 hit.  But, recent developments have pushed us back into action, and we need your help.

The facts are simple. All of the amazing progress we have made in almost 6 years, with the more than 250 students in Buyijja and outlying villages that attend the school, has been halted, and the kids are now without any real alternatives for education.  The government’s solution is “remote learning” using TVs and Radios to be distributed to villages.  One small problem…most rural villages (including Buyijja) have no electricity or other modern conveniences. So…a different solution is required. 

That is where YOU come in. 
Continue reading

Friday Filler – Getting Over Yourself – New Rituals

Thank Grog It’s Firday!

Well, well, well… Last week’s Filler certainly stirred up the pot, and showed a rather contentious side to our little community. What started out as my hope that people would stop worrying about tagging, and more importantly, stop using the comments section on this site to attack and belittle one another over tagging, became a battlefield of denial and bewilderment.

Then…it became a territorial debate about whether we should abolish or keep the “Add Friends – Graffiti Free” section on the site.  Which turned into a broader debate over cause, effect, intent and entitlement.

So many ways to say the same things…

I HAVE A SOLUTION!!!! Continue reading

Special Thanks To Very Special Addicts

As I like to do after one of our fundraisers, I am printing a list of those who made the effort to donate in this last round of School Book Funding for the school in Uganda we support.

This is the 13th round of books, supplies and teaching aids we have provided to this little school in the middle of the Ugandan jungle. Without us, there would be none of the critical books and supplies needed to educate more than 270 children from the village of Buyijja, and other villages in the area who have no other school.

The best news of all, these gifts are changing lives…and the teachers there are reaching goals of success. of which  many schools in developed nations would be proud.

I’ll let our project manager deliver the results…
Continue reading

Friday Filler – Killing Three Geese With One Stone

Thank Grog It’s Firday! 

I can’t believe how many questions the addition of the Golden Goose Real Estate building opened up!  Three HUGE questions, or “goose chases,” that really forced me to do some serious research, math, and some additional Goose Guessing!

The Questions?
1. How Many Land Sections Are There, and how many do I have left?
2. Does it make sense for me to hoard my Free GGR land certificates, or should I move ahead and turn them in for Free Donuts?
3. Where in the heck is “True North” in TSTO?

Well…as much as it seems to be an impossible task to answer all of these in one single post, I am just the tapper to take it on!

Let’s start with Goose Guess Number One…
Continue reading

And Now…A Word From Our Sponsors and a BIG Thank You!

My training in my youth was better than this. Really.

I was trained to write a “Thank You Note” almost as soon as I received a gift.  At Christmas, the marching orders from my Mom were, “You can’t play with your gift, until you write a thank you note!”  That was pretty good motivation, unless it was socks, or a sweater from my Aunt in Illinois.  But, you get it…

So…I SHOULD have written this last week…or, even the week before.  But, as you might remember, all hell broke loose in our Krustylands. Nukes were tossed, and mayhem ensued.  I got distracted…

But that is no excuse…and it is time to set the record straight!
Continue reading

Friday Filler – When Fame and Reality Meet at the Crossroads of Fantasy and Adventure

Thank Grog It’s Firday!!!

I can’t believe it’s been a whole week since the intrepid Addicts Team was meeting (in some cases for the first time) in Disneyland!  So…cool! So “pre-Eclipse.”  So utterly kinda mind blowing to be a live action cartoon character in a sea of humans.

No. I wasn’t dressed up in a Mickey Mouse costume, or flamboyantly flashing my dreadlocks in a “Jack Sparrow” getup.  For this little dance on the side of “being you…while playing someone else…mostly…” I was actually dressed in my “CrankyOldGuy” uniform, as I call it these days.

I had worn it, as to be “easily recognizable” for any group Addicts pictures…and had left it on, out of convenience. And that’s when things got kinda weird, and cool, and fantastic…
Continue reading

Let There Be LIGHT(s)!!!!

Wow. OK…so this has been the kind of week that makes one want to down a bottle of Dramamine in one sitting.  Politics on both sides of the “big pond” continue to make the ground shake with change and speculation.

But, even more important than who leaked to whom, and who will take charge of what, is WHY CAN’T I GET EVERYTHING I WANT!!!!!!

EA has really pulled the window to a narrow split for many of us who were unable to log on every 4 hours for weeks. Turns out that sometimes life gets in the way…and when I made the calendar, I thought, “this look EAsy!”  But…of course…they changed things in the middle of the update, because it seemed too easy for some. Bastids!

Now…I will likely be forced to make the decision whether I want to drop donuts on “Moe’s Cave” and caveman character (Another Moe???)…or if I am just going to go with my gut, and realize that creating a huge Cave/Springfield, which will be followed by an Egyptian Springfield makes no sense.  I WANT the pirate stuff. I’ve always wanted to be a pirate in my heart of hearts.  But, we’ll have to see how difficult they make it to get it all.

I also admit that “getting it all” makes me feel a bit greedy…when so many have so little (like the players who missed 2-3 years of free stuff!).  And when I take a look at what’s REALLY IMPORTANT…
Continue reading

And now…A Word to Our Sponsors!


No boob jokes in this post. No CAPS (except for that one), no play on EA with word’s like rEAlly!  I am just going to keep this post simple, and to the point.

THANK YOU…

As silly as this game is, and as serious as some take it, and as much as I want to diagram jokes for some of the “literalists,” that can’t see that I am poking fun…almost all of the time… I am giving you all a respite to simply say, THANKS (sorry…caps key was locked), for once again stepping up and changing lives.

Emma, our stalwart project manager, sent me these pics today- and I wanted to share them with you- because a good number of you stepped up to help us reach our goal for this round of School Supplies quickly.  In addition, I wanted to show a couple more pics of the Water Tank that you all helped fund, in action…

I defy you to look at these faces…and actually worry about something as silly as getting a digital baby T-Rex.  But, of course…most of us are happy to do both!

Thanks so much…we are changing lives, in ways that political leaders seem unable to do.  This community rocks!!!
Continue reading

YOU Did This…The Amazing Work That TSTO Addicts Can Do!


When we talked about getting a water tank and rain collection system for our “adopted school,” in Buyijja, I was expecting some support, and a long haul to getting it done in the middle of a major TSTO event.

Silly me.

You guys ROCKED IT… and as promised, not only did the money get into the right hands quickly, but the immediacy of the situation (6-month drought conditions, with a dry well), got everyone into action.

By the time you read this, the tank should be fully installed. Yep. START TO FINISH in less than THREE WEEKS!

Take  a Look At The Progress!!
Continue reading